I'm pretty sure this questions / answer is somewhere on this board but I didn't see it. Here is the issue. I went and filled my hydro script (10/325) the other day at a local pharmacy. Nothing unusual except, this time they were white (M367). I normally get yellow Watsons. Now normally I would say for the most part a generic is just as good as the name brand. But I must say these little white ones don’t seem to be nearly as effective. Has anyone else noticed this? Or is it just me. I read somewhere that the Watsons are better so maybe that’s why I’m convinced these white ones are not as good.

I have have noticed a huge difference in the yellow vs. generic, you're not the only one...

there are more than a few threads on this type of subject. the general consenus is that people have better experiences with the watsons.

It's amazing how different the same medicine can be. Ask the pharmacist first next time to make sure you get the brand you want.

I never noticed it with vicoden, but there seems to be a world of difference when it comes to percocets. The White long ones are almost like taking nothing. Watsons worked fine, endocets and percocets (name brand) were fine. I know that endocet and percocets are made by the same people so I assume that's why they both work great on me.

As for the white ones? It's like the filler was packed so tight no medicine could escape - lol! I had stomach aches, increased pain, etc. I did find that if I broke them in half and then took the two halves together that it seemed to work better. (they aren't time released so it doesn't matter if you break them in half anyway) I've read, but don't know if it's true, that drinking coffee, another hot drink or a carbonated drink will help the medicine dissolve so that it'll help relieve the pain.

Lynx4, I never thought about doing something like that. It makes sense to me. Breaking it in half would be able to let you get to the med itself instead of the coating that they put over it. Sometimes I do drink something hot with them, but when I can't, I make sure that I am drinking plenty of fluid to try to get it dissolved.

Thanks for the responses. The general conscious (once again) seems to be that name brand is better. However, no one seems to really know why. The one theory I can think of is that the generic might use close to the minimum amount of the active ingredient that is allowed by the FDA. This might apply to other generics as well since they all have some type of +/- tolerance for everything that goes into making a single pill.

I worked for ACORN (b4 they were crooked, if they are) and helped to get the generic drug law passed in Texas (early 80s).

It was my understanding that the active ingredients had to be the same and and of the same amount.

I am thinking it might have something to do w/the fillers as others have suggested.

This is like the old calcium carbonate in hydrochloric acid experiment that we all did (or should have done) at school.

The large chunks give off the odd bubble of gas very slowly; the medium size chunks bubble quicker; the small chippings quicker again, and the powder fizzes.

This is because the smaller size chunks have more surface area exposed to the acid. The same will be true of tablets; the more surface area, the quicker they will disperse in the stomach.

I have always thought that the slower a tablet takes to disperse (and therefore the longer it takes for the active ingredient to enter the bloodstream) the less potent it will feel. If the tablet is crumbly in the first place, it should work quicker, whereas a very hard tablet will take longer, and in a extreme case may never actually reach the peak effect of the crumbly tablet.

Following abdominal surgery, I was given Tylex capsules, containing codeine 30mg and paracetamol 500mg in powder form. On an empty stomach, when the gelatin shell melted, the effect was almost as sudden as an IV injection or morphine or pethidine, and was so reliable that it took around 33 minutes or so before the effect would kick in.

I have also taken exactly the same formula (co-codamol 30/500mg) in tablet form, and it felt weaker, even though it provided the same content as the capsule.

I had the same experience with soluble Solpadol tablets (codeine 30mg/paracetamol 500mg). They seemed to work much faster and were more effective than the regular tablets.

Have any of you hydro 10/660's? They really make my whole body itch. My doc was supposed to call in 10/325 on fri but I guess the nurse got it wrong or they were out or something. I will call her tomorrow but Im just curious because I have never had this combo nation of strengths before. Thank you Yota

If I'm not mistaken, the opiate is what makes you itch. So it would make no difference if you got the 10/325 because they would still have the same amount of opiate in it.

I have been having a horrible experience with some generic vicodin I get from my doc. I realized it after I went to another pharmacy for a few months and moved back. After three months of these junk vicodins, I plan on asking for name brand next time.

I know the hydro ca make you itch bu tI have been on them for a long time and don't itch. Now literaly my whole body itches. One little itch then another then another etc. Ugg

Thanks though, Yota

try a lower dose. I've never heard of anyone itching off of 10mg of hydrocodone.

that's funny, I felt like the Norco was stronger than the Watson. Is Norgo considered generic? They're yellow, too.

in America all generics have to have the same amount of active ingredient, the only thing I can think of that'd make a different brand feel any different is maybe the filler.

and yes, I'm pretty sure Norco is generic for Vicodin 10/325.

Vicodin 5/500
Vicodin ES 7.5/750
Vicodin HP 10/660

Norco is not generic for anything.
Norco is name brand 10mg hydrocodone/325mg APAP.
No such drug as Vicodin 10/325.

I love Norco, it works faster then any other I have tried. Perhaps generic hydros use a coating that takes longer to break down. Norco may have a faster disolving coating.

After being on generic hydros, I asked my doc for name brand with less apap. Norco is what he prescribed. My script is $50.00 with insurance but it is worth it, after all why pay $15.00 for something that only 1/2 works.

Thank you

Norco is Watson.

Norco, Vicodin (etc.) are all brand names for products containing varying amounts of hydrocodone and APAP, as Martind pointed out.

Yota. When I first was prescribed hydro they made me itch as well. I mentioned it to my doctor and he said it is the codeine in the drug that causes the itching. Now 3 years later they no longer make me itch which I would say happened about 1/2 year into it. Don't know why eventually the itch factor quit for me but thank god it did!

my bad, I've always just referred to any pill with hydrocodone and apap as vicodin, would is wrong. most people know what you're talking about right away. but my bad, I wasn't aware of the exact dosages of apap in the vicodin.

Not your bad. I hang around a lot of medical people. I think most, if not all, say "vicodin" whenever they talk about hydro regardless of type or strength.

On this issue of different efficacies of percs, I have never experienced that and I have had all the major brands, I think endo, mallikrodt, watson, and I think one other. I definately can vouch for the watsons and the long endo yellow ones, but the mallies are still ok.

A generic name, which is the active ingredient of the medicine. And a brand name, which is the trade name the manufacturer gives to the medicine.

How does this affect?
When a doctor is writing a prescription, or a consumer is buying an over-the-counter medicine, they may have a choice between a branded medicine and the generic version of that medicine. Generic medicines are sometimes cheaper than brand-name medicines, but the active ingredient (the ingredient that produces the therapeutic effect of the medicine) is the same in both.

I could say the white one you have bought is a fake.

yes but with what I believe has been called the 20% rule, they can have a dose that is within 20% of what the branded one is, so possibly less active ingredient. Also the fillers and coating, and other aspects of the pill itself are important. As such sometimes a person can notice a difference between two generic pills of the same medicine. Also, generics are not available for medicines that have only come out recently, some 10 years, others 2 year patents. All i was saying was that I have never seen a difference between generics and brands of percs and for that matter any other drug, but that may just be me.

Why would you say it is fake?

It is a mallikrodt generic pill. It's pretty much been known by many for a long time that the mallikrodt hydro products just do not seem to work as well at all.

Really? Wow, assuming that is true, 20% is a lot! I would also think that most generic companies would put as less of the active ingredient as legal to save money.

Of course, in some meds, like BP meds, one would probably not even notice 20% less.

Not to get too OT here, but I have also heard many folks complain about the effectiveness of generic A/Ds.

I still have a bunch of mali's 10/325 that i'm saving for a rainy day. This was the last batch from an RX from my PCP in May just before I weaned myself off about 30 to 40 mg a day. I have had both the Watson and the Mali's in my med.inventory at the same. I can tell you that the onset of a Watson seems much faster to me than that of the Mali. So what ive done is let the Mali melt in my mouth for a minute or so before washing it down with a carbonated beverage. It doesnt help with the strength of the pill, but it seems to help speed up the medicine's entry into the bloodstream.

The mali's have a very hard outer coating, hard to break in half, unlike the watson's where they are a much more brittle pill. This could be why the Mali's take so long to have any affect, or maybe they did that on purpose to provide an extended release affect. I know they are not advertised as extended release, but the hardness of the pill could be contributing to the immediate effectiveness of it, or lack there of. Any in case, it melts in your mouth and not in your hands.